


Slow Down the Sun

by raptormoon



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Aging, Death, Gen, Sorry not sorry if I make you cry, very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 09:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11917665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptormoon/pseuds/raptormoon
Summary: Time keeps marching forward, but it keeps leaving Maui behind.





	Slow Down the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> This story ate my soul for the past couple of weeks. I couldn't focus on any other writing. And lots of offline things happened, too, which kept me from focusing on this.
> 
> But here it is! At long last!
> 
> I have some experience with the things Maui is facing here. It's hard. There's only so much that can be done. His experience is not my own, but has been informed heavily by it.
> 
> My eternal thanks to [JadeWolf](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jadewolf/pseuds/jadewolf) for helping me through this. Seriously, she pretty much held my hand as I cried and ranted my way through it. Also inspired and suggested a lot of what made this story what it is.
> 
> Also many thanks to [ this wonderful guy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/blacklark57) who needs to get his Dark Tower stuff posted! ;)  
> 

_“This isn’t working, man!” Tamatoa yelped as Maui was snatched out of the air._

_“I can see that! Shut up, I’m concentrating!” Maui didn’t have a good grip on his hook, but maybe…._

_“On what?! Getting thrown around?”_

_Tamatoa ducked as Maui was, indeed, sent flying right over his head, then threw himself to the side as a tentacle attempted to slam down atop him._

_“You got any better ideas?!” Maui yelled angrily._

_“As a matter of fact!” Tamatoa jumped again. “Do you remember when we slowed down the sun?”_

_~~~_

Maui loved flying. The freedom to go wherever he wanted was liberating, the speed advantage of flight over sailing was incredible, and all the many sights he could see from the sky were truly spectacular.

He especially loved the drinks that were handed out freely in first class.

On that particular day he was returning after a few days in Portland. Just a little time to get away, eat the doughnuts, you know. But business these days was in Seattle, and he could be gone for only so long.

Maui had his tablet in his hand but wasn’t paying any attention to it; instead he gazed out the window as the sun sank over the horizon, setting the water aglow. Sunsets here were never as impressive as back home, but still beautiful in their own right. The sight made him nostalgic.

A ping sounded on his tablet. His eyes flicked over with the intent of dismissing the notification, but the name on the email caught his attention. He sat up straight and opened the email, carefully read it through. His eyes narrowed, then closed, and an aching chill spread from his heart out through his chest. His hands shook. He took a deep breath, trying to settle his sudden flurry of emotions.

It was time. It was going to happen, and soon.

He flicked around to other screens, and began making preparations.

~~~

Maui gave himself one half day in the office to get things settled for an extended absence. Jolette wasn’t happy about that, especially since he’d just gotten back, but after giving him that cool stare she was so good at, she shook her head, curls bouncing, and got to work.

He had brought _that_ suitcase along, and would be going straight to the airport after, so she knew without asking that this was a thing that was going to happen.

“I’m going to be completely out of reach within two days, so any big problems need to happen before then or it’s completely up to you to handle them,” he instructed as he walked out to the elevator.

“Already said that,” Jolette replied.

“I’ll still check in every month or so with the sat-phone,” Maui continued.

“Said that already too, boss.”

The elevator door opened, and he stepped in, rolling the very large suitcase behind him. He turned and winked at Jolette. “Whenever you’re ready to take over as CEO….”

She rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t pay me enough to take over all of your crazy schemes.”

“Just enough to put up with my crazy?”

“Mmm hmmm.”

Maui sighed as he pushed the lobby button, good humor failing. “I will be back. Don’t forget me, ok?”

She smiled, finally. “Never, boss. You know that.”

With that, the elevator doors closed.

~~~

It was a long day and a tiresome series of flights before Maui arrived in Funafuti. He slept on the way, and spent the night on the island upon his arrival. Then a series of boat rides took him out to his private islands.

“You made good time, sir,” his doctor, who doubled as chief of staff, remarked. She walked beside him as they approached the facility on the small island, and allowed him to hold the door as they entered.

“Thanks, but I can’t take any credit for that. And you don’t need to be calling me ‘sir,’ _Doctor Waialiki.”_ He held the door again, as they entered the canteen filled with his carefully selected staff.

The young woman ducked her head in acknowledgement. “Still. It’s better to be formal in front of the others.”

Maui chuckled, though it came out flat and dry. “You have no idea how weird it is to hear you say that. I knew your ancestors, you know!”

She gave him a narrow, side-eyed glare. “ _That_ you should save for when we’re _not_ in front of the others,” she muttered.

Maui shrugged, not in the mood to keep up the good humor. “Yeah, you’re right. Well, let’s get a move on. Attention staff!” He raised his voice to call their attention as he reached the front of the room. “You have all done wonderful jobs at keeping my islands quiet and safe. Thank you for that, and for welcoming me back once again!” The room cheered, but it was quiet, reserved. Everyone felt as half-hearted about it as he did.

“But, as I’m sure you know,” he pressed on, his voice growing thick. “This is going to be my last visit.” Silence filled the room. Nobody knew what to say to that. He didn’t know, either. Instead, he moved on.

“Pilots, I need you to stick around and continue your jobs.” Maui started again, back to the businessman, ignoring the emotions at stake for the moment. “Everyone else, you are on indefinite paid leave. But, since I know a lot of you love being here,” a few chuckles met that statement, “you are also welcome to stay.” He swallowed, his throat tight.

“ _Everyone,_ ” Maui continued, and if he was serious before, he was grave now. “You must still abide by your NDA’s. You all know what’s at stake, here. Let’s keep this secret safe, right?”

A chorus of assenting cheers answered him, and he nodded in satisfaction.

“Perfect. Thanks everyone. Waialiki, a few more minutes of your time.”

~~~

After the doctor gave him details, Maui walked out of the facility and onto the warm beach. He toed off his shoes and socks, enjoyed the feel of his feet kicking in the sand. He had brought his suitcase out, but didn’t bother to roll it into the sand with him. He turned and unzipped it, pushed it open, then began undressing. Shoes and socks first, then his jacket. Maui unclipped his cufflinks and tossed them in, then the shirts followed. Bare-chested, he took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the sun sinking into his tattooed skin. He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket, checked for messages, then turned it off. It and the rest of his clothes were casually dropped in.

Only then did Maui pull out an old, old garment, a long tapa cloth intricately dyed in red. He wrapped it around his waist and tied it closed with old muscle memory guiding him. Then, finally, the last thing.

Maui reached in, and pulled out his fishhook.

Despite everything, a grin stretched his face. It had been so long since he’d last held this. Not as long as when he’d been trapped on an island, but still several years. He closed his eyes, breathed in the scent of the hook. A long moment of silence passed.

“Chee-hooo!” he cried, and a second later a giant hawk launched up from the sand and flew out over the water.

~~~

_“Chee-hoo!” Maui shouted as he jumped down the entrance into Lalotai. It had not been so long since he and Moana had escaped from the realm of monsters, and nothing about that expedition had gone according to plan. He had dwelled in melancholy for hours, until Moana had set him straight._

_He knew who he was. Who he truly was, deep inside. He knew he had worth, and more, he knew the worth of friendship. And while Moana was a great new friend whom he loved dearly, he had a great old friend with whom he should try to make amends._

_Tamatoa deserved to have his worth recognized, too._

~~~

It felt great to stretch his wings, but this last, final flight to the large island was never long enough. He circled once to prolong it, but there was no question about where to land. His target was right there.

Maui spiralled down and changed back to his human form right before hitting the ground. He landed in a crouch. He flipped his hair behind his shoulders as he stood, keeping his hook in a loose grip but still in-hand, just in case. He looked across the beach to take in the behemoth nestled into the sand.

Maui’s arrival had not gone unnoticed, and Tamatoa eyed him as he began his approach. The monstrous crab said nothing as he drew near, merely watched with an unreadable look in his eyes.

“Hey buddy,” Maui called as he drew closer. “How’ve you been?”

Tamatoa shrugged. “I’ve been better. Hungry.” He leaned down, eyeing Maui critically, looking him up and down.

Maui tensed, suspecting what was coming.

“You seem familiar,” Tamatoa remarked. “Do I know you?”

~~~

_The first time Tamatoa had forgotten the way home, Maui shrugged it off. They were exhausted, after all._

_The second time was nearly a century later. But it wasn’t just that he’d forgotten the way home. He had forgotten that’s where he was going._

_The third time, Maui had to talk him down from a panic attack._

_And that was when Maui started noticing all the other things Tamatoa was forgetting, too._

~~~

A few days later Tamatoa was having a good day.

That didn’t really make anything better, Maui reflected.

“That must be some good tuna,” he remarked drily.

“Hmmph!” Tamatoa responded, pulling another pile of fish closer. “So long as I’m stuck on this island, and so long as those whirligigs keep bringing it, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Maui sighed.

“Besides,” Tamatoa continued. “I’m dying, here. May as well enjoy the pleasures left to me.”

Maui flinched, but he couldn’t deny it. Dr. Waialiki had called him back for precisely that reason.

“What do you think of your humans?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

Tamatoa snorted. “They’re _your_ humans, man. But they’re fine, I guess. Keep me entertained, when they can.” He paused to take another bite - _mouthful_ \- of fish, and Maui was glad when he swallowed before continuing. “That doctor has warm hands. I like her.”

Maui smiled at that. “That’s good.”

They stayed a while longer in silence, just enjoying each other’s company; and, in Tamatoa’s case, enjoying the free food. Eventually, though, the monster crab decided it was time to do something else. He stood, slowly.

“Eugh,” Tamatoa commented, once he was mostly up on his legs. “That’s getting harder and harder. Hurting more, too.”

“I could probably carry you, old man,” Maui offered.

Tamatoa glared at him briefly, before he rolled his eyes in dismissal. “Possibly,” he agreed. “But I still have my pride. I can still do this much, at least.” He lumbered slowly away, down the beach.

Maui watched him go, and his heart ached with the brittle fear of what he knew was coming.

~~~

_“You already know that his heart is failing,” Dr. Waialiki told him. “Recently, though, his medicine has stopped working.” Maui nodded, remembering that from a phone call months ago. “We’ve been trying to find a new course that will keep him on track, but nothing has worked. Even if we never find anything, on its own, given what we’ve seen from him before, Tamatoa could probably live for a few more years, even a decade, before he suffered full cardiac failure._

_“But,” and here she paused. Fiddled with her sleeve. Then she sighed. “Then this second problem came up. He is not fully digesting his food, and we have no idea how much nutrition he is absorbing. Not much, if we had to guess. That, if we had the time, could probably be remedied. But the lack of nutrition is weakening his heart too quickly. We can’t fix his absorption problem before his heart gives out.”_

_“So this is it,” Maui said. It wasn’t really a question. His throat felt too tight, his eyes too warm._

_She nodded, reached her hand up to place it on his shoulder. “He’s going to get weaker every day. Tired. Probably hungry. We have no idea how it’s going to affect his mental state, and it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll….” She looked down. Sighed._

_“If he’ll what?”_

_Dr. Waialiki looked back up to him. “We don’t know if he’s going to die from malnutrition, or if his heart will go out first.”_

_Maui’s breath caught, but he nodded._

_“If it’s any consolation,” she continued. “I am certain my ancestors will welcome him.”_

_“Heh,” Maui tried a chuckle. It was pretty flimsy. Still, he met her eye with a smile. “Yeah, Moana certainly will.”_

~~~

The days went downhill from there, until they had a truly bad day.

“Where are you, Maui?!” Tamatoa raged. He was thrashing across his island, hunting for the demigod. Maui was disguised as a small bird, however, and watched from a distance.

Watched with some unnameable ache as Tamatoa stumbled every few steps, unbalanced. His injured leg had grown back after a molt, long ago, but right now he did not remember that. Right now, Tamatoa was stuck in a memory loop of fighting with Maui.

Right now, he was hurting himself, stressing his body and his mind. He was taking time away from his already numbered days, and Maui despaired. He had tried approaching Tamatoa, attempted to calm him down, but today it just could not be done. His presence had only made the memory loop worse.

So he sat, and watched, and wondered what it was going to be like. After. When he was the only one left to remember.

~~~

_“So you like the people here okay?” Maui asked. He trusted Tamatoa’s opinion far more than any review or recommendation his employees gave themselves._

_Tamatoa grinned at him. “Half of them are afraid of me,” he said, smug and preening. “I can smell it on them every time they row the fish over. Not that they wouldn’t be a tasty snack-” Tamatoa side-eyed Maui flatly, then glanced to his leg that had once been missing. “But I guess they’re useful in other ways. That Chief you hired has been reading me books. Brings his granddaughter along sometimes, she thinks I’m just like a dragon. Oh, and one of the riddle-ladies, she brings me spoons! I even put the gold ones up on my shell!”_

_“Spoons?” Maui asked, baffled._

_“Yeah, they’re this little slip of shiny metal, got a curve on one end, and-”_

_“I know what a spoon is!” Maui interrupted, laughing._

_“Then you know how ridiculous you look when you use it as a mirror!” Tamatoa gave a hearty laugh of his own, then added, snide, “Not that you need a spoon for that.”_

_“Hey!” Maui protested, and dug his elbow into the ample soft skin of Tamatoa’s neck. Tamatoa just laughed again at his efforts._

_They chuckled together for a minute before Tamatoa continued. “Nah, man, they’re fine. Not as fun as you,” and Maui heard the weight of old arguments - why do the humans_ always _come first? - behind that word, “but I suppose it’s almost like having my own little tribe of worshippers. Which, of course, I totally deserve.”_

_“You do,” Maui agreed, though he rolled his eyes. “And I’m glad you like it when Mr. Waialiki reads to you. But I brought something this time that I think will really knock your shell off!”_

_“Oh?” Tamatoa twisted his eyestalks to look at Maui more intently. “And what’s that?”_

_Maui grinned widely. “They’re called_ movies _.”_

~~~

They spent a very pleasant morning together as a light rain sprinkled down upon them. Tamatoa insisted on singing, and Maui gave up his griping four songs in and started singing along. They sang sailors’ ditties that Maui had learned long ago and taught to Tamatoa. The crab loved the raucous, often dirty lyrics. Maui taught him a few new songs, and his friend proved as fast a learner as ever.

They sang ancient songs, too. Songs in languages that nobody else still spoke. Songs of their own victories, and songs of their friendship.

When at last the drizzle trailed off and the sun emerged from behind the clouds, Tamatoa interrupted their concert between songs.

“Hey, Maui. Go fly over and invite the humans over. I’ll meet you all on the north beach.”

Curious, but not questioning his friend’s good mood, Maui did as instructed. Within an hour, he and several of the staff, including Dr. Waialiki, were dragging their little motorboat up onto the sand under Tamatoa’s watchful gaze. Tamatoa had been busy while Maui was away; there were several long driftwood logs pulled up in a semicircle around him, arranged for an audience. Maui raised an eyebrow at his friend, but Tamatoa only smiled widely, gesturing an invitation with his claw.

“Welcome, friends!” he called jovially. “Maui, you come sit by me. I thought we would tell you some stories of back in the day!”

Maui laughed. “You’re sounding positively ancient, old man!” he teased.

Tamatoa flicked an antenna at him, but turned his attention back to his guests as Maui settled onto the nearest log. “We’ve probably told you about slowing down the sun, already,” a quick glance to Maui, answered with a nod, confirmed that, “so how about the time Maui ripped off my leg?”

Maui gaped, caught off guard. The faces of the humans gathered around mirrored his shock.

“No? Pfft, wimps,” Tamatoa muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Fine, fine. How about that time he pulled up an island with the absolutely humongous octopus still living in the cave?”

~~~

_When Maui had first established this private sanctuary for Tamatoa, he had intended to stay with him. Step out of time for a while, let the world pass them both by, and just live quietly in their own little paradise._

_But the world would not pass them by. It kept butting right up to them, washing in on their shores._

_Most were rebuffed easily enough. If Maui couldn’t talk them into leaving, the sight of a giant, angry crab would do the trick. Until, one time, it didn’t._

_Maui had seen the pale-faced people plenty of times before. They’d been poking their noses around a lot lately. But when a shipful showed up to his island, and could not be talked away, and Tamatoa charged them, they did not respond as expected. Instead they pulled out their long-barreled guns, took aim, and fired indiscriminately. Maui flung himself to the sand to dodge, and when he looked he was glad to see that Tamatoa had used a heavy claw to shield his face._

_But he could hear the growl building even over the sound of the gunfire. Tamatoa had not stopped his charge, and now barreled into the group of men, swiping and snapping with his claws, kicking and stomping with his legs. Maui watched, horrified, as the intruders quickly broke and scattered._

_Some even escaped alive._

_He wanted to rebuke his friend, but when Tamatoa turned to him with the same feral look in his eyes, Maui changed shape and fled as well. In the end, he couldn’t blame the crab for reacting to an attempt on his life._

_But Maui knew that he couldn’t stay and hope for things to work out; he would have to actively protect his island and his friend living upon it. Somehow._

_He did not leave immediately, but when he did, he vowed to return to their island soon. To not be gone so long that Tamatoa could forget him._

_“I’ll try not to,” his friend answered._

~~~

“Hey, big guy!” Maui called up. He was only half-forcing the cheer; when he had gone looking for Tamatoa, he had heard his friend singing. That always boded well.

Tamatoa was resting in the shade, sitting near the base of the small mountain at the heart of the island. He looked up when Maui called to him, and grinned.

“Maui! Good morning! When did you get here?” His voice was chipper, if not exactly as youthful as he seemed to think it was.

“Good morning right back to you!” Maui replied with a smile, happy to see his friend in such good spirits. He ignored the question. “How are you feeling today?”

“Hungry! I haven’t eaten since-” He cut off. Stared straight ahead with a blank expression, then looked down to Maui.

“I ate yesterday,” he finished, but he had lost the exuberant tone. A touch of confusion crossed his face instead. “The- the whirligigs, they brought more fish again. Right?”

“They did, yeah,” Maui agreed, keeping his face and voice both carefully calm. He reached out to pat his friend’s neck. “And fruit. And they’ll be coming back today. As much food as you want!”

The bright-eyed exuberance returned. “Really? That’s great! Oh, I hope there’s eel this time!”

“And maybe some squid, too!” Maui added.

“Yeah! C’mon, man, let’s go!”

But when Tamatoa moved to stand, pain flashed across his features and he stumbled back to the ground.

“You ok there, buddy?” Maui asked, alarmed.

“Maui? Am I… did I get hurt?” He looked over himself for a moment, then shook his head. “No, no, not hurt. _Old._ When did I get old?”

“You’re thousands of years old, big guy.” Maui tried to keep his voice light, not caring for the reminder. “You’ve been old for most of them.”

Tamatoa glared at him for that remark, but it was worth it to see the confusion chased away and replaced by the fire Maui was still so used to. “Oh, har har. What a comedian.”

Maui smiled. He couldn’t quite force it into a grin. “Come on, old man. Stand up slowly, then we’ll go get some fish. The helicopters should be here any time.”

“The what now?”

“The whirligigs,” Maui corrected, with a smile that finally bloomed.

~~~

_In the wake of the battle, they managed to trudge out of the cave, down the mountain, and to the beach. Maui tripped over his own feet and fell into the sand; Tamatoa settled in a bit more gingerly, laid his head down atop his claw. They both heaved for breath with exhaustion._

_Eventually Maui looked over at his friend, took in the scratches and cracks in the crab’s shell and armored legs._

_“You’re not looking too good, buddy.”_

_Tamatoa huffed, sounding like he was trying to laugh. “Yes, well, you should see the other guy.”_

_Maui cracked a grin at that. “You mean me or the octopus?”_

_One monstrous eye cracked open to look at him, and it moved up and down as though sizing him up. “Both.”_

_“Hey!”_

_“Don’t blame me for the truth. You already looked ridiculous; those welts are doing nothing for you, man.”_

_The demigod opened his mouth to retort, but the words died on his tongue when Tamatoa winced and shifted with a groan._

_“You didn’t get hurt like this when we went after the sun.”_

_Tamatoa eyed him again, a look of dissatisfaction creeping across his face. “Oh? Is that how you remember it? Because I remember the both of us covered in burns. Singes and blackened welts and your skin all bubbly.”_

_Maui winced, taken aback, but he did remember that now that Tamatoa mentioned it. “Aww, c’mon, it wasn’t that ba-”_

_“It was,” Tamatoa interrupted, entirely deadpan and delivered with a glare._

_“Well it was your idea to do that again!” Maui was indignant now._

_Tamatoa rolled his eyes and looked away. “Whatever, man. You’re welcome for saving your life.”_

_For a long moment, Maui was silent. Finally, guilt edged in, and he sighed. “Sorry, Tama. Thank you.” He looked again at all the damage his friend had sustained in their fight. “Anything I can do for you?”_

_The crab was quiet for another long moment before looking back at him. “I’m gonna take a nap. You can go find some food.”_

_Maui grinned and stood - slowly, still exhausted, but in better shape than Tamatoa. “Sure thing buddy.” He staggered forward, leaned his forehead against Tamatoa’s cheek - the only part of his friend’s face he could reach - suddenly overcome with affection for his friend. “You rest. I’ll be here, when you wake up.”_

~~~

Tamatoa always seemed to do better after a good meal. Even the ones where Maui had to cajole, bribe, and threaten the crab to eat some fruits and vegetables for once - a monster shouldn’t live on fish alone!

Maui knew that Tamatoa would be hungry again soon. He knew that the food wasn’t doing much besides filling an empty stomach. But nonetheless he accepted with good grace the talkative mood that a filling meal gave his friend, short-lived though it usually was.

“How can you even remember that you hate cucumbers? You can remember what we did last week, but not yesterday. You can remember half of our adventures and the others are just a blank. So how do you _always_ remember that you hate cucumbers?”

“I don’t have to remember!” Tamatoa snapped. His pincer clicked closed in emphasis. “I can smell them! And if they don’t smell good they won’t taste good and I don’t eat green food, anyway!”

“You eat pickles all the time!”

“They’re different!”

Maui rolled his eyes but couldn’t hold back a chuckle. He heaved a sigh then leaned back again, relaxing against Tamatoa’s shoulder as they sat together on the beach, most of the delivered food now devoured.

“Dr. Waialiki says your memory has been overall improving lately,” he continued, and tried to keep his voice casual. “And you’ve remembered me every day for weeks now.”

“No thanks to cucumbers,” Tamatoa scoffed.

Maui just snorted in response.

It couldn’t have been more than a minute before Tamatoa spoke again. “I’ve noticed too. I think it’s because you’ve been here. You’re familiar. You remind me of things.”

“I’m glad I can help with that,” Maui responded sincerely. “Glad I can bring things back.”

But Tamatoa shook his head at that. “It’s not that you bring things back. Sorry, man,” he said as Maui glanced up in askance. “All of my memories are still in here.” He tapped the side of his head with a pincer. “They just sometimes hide. I remember pretty much everything.” He looked up, and out to the ocean. “I could probably relive my entire life again. But I can’t always find what I’m looking for.” He looked back to Maui. “It’s like you know home is right there, but you can’t see it for all the mist on the water.”

Slowly, Maui nodded in understanding. “Never _really_ gone. Just out of sight.”

~~~

_They had fought. Maui had found a crashed canoe not far from Tamatoa’s lair, traveling baskets inside, and no trace of humans except for a few smears of blood across the monster’s treasures._

_He had managed to keep his temper in check - barely - until Tamatoa had admitted to eating them._

_That was when all hell erupted. Red crossed Maui’s vision. He wasn’t thinking, only doing._

_“C’mon, man, why is that so different from when you-”_

_But Maui didn’t hear Tamatoa’s pleas. Wouldn’t listen to any explanation. Pressed his attack while Tamatoa would only defend._

_“Maui? Maui, please stop. I’m sorry, but they-”_

_No. He wouldn’t hear it. There was no excuse. In rage, he slammed into Tamatoa, knocking the giant crab down. Tamatoa finally tried to kick out at him, but Maui caught the leg and pulled._

_Kept pulling, even when pleas turned to screams. Kept pulling, until he held a dead weight in his hands._

~~~

Tamatoa moved stiffly with every step now. He grumbled about it most days. And those same days, he was mostly his usual self.

But not every day.

Not this day.

“Maui, please, please stop,” he begged. Pain suffused his voice. Pain and fear.

“Shh, Tama, it’s ok,” Maui tried to soothe, his voice breaking, his heart in his throat. “I’m not doing anything, you’re safe.”

“But it hurts!” Tamatoa gasped. “You’re hurting me!” He twitched his legs. Twitched _the_ leg.

“I’m sorry, Tama.” Maui said, with tears in his eyes, and his heart broke into millions of brittle shards. “I did hurt you, a long time ago. I am so sorry for that. But you’re all better now,” he choked on his words. “Your leg is back.”

“But it _hurts,_ Maui!” His eyes were wild in pain and fear, though he neither tried to flee nor attack. Just like the memory he was reliving. “Why does it hurt if you’re not hurting me?! Please please please just stop!” he sobbed.

Maui rubbed his hands gently on Tamatoa’s shell, trying to offer what comfort he could to a friend who couldn’t hear him. Bit back a sob of his own. What could he say to his friend, to explain that his body was failing? That the pain was not something he could fix; could not be fixed at all.

How could he tell his friend that the end was coming?

“I’m so sorry Tama. I would stop this if I could.”

_“Please!”_

 

It was a long, painful night for the both of them.

~~~

_Over the years, Maui had found himself wondering: What was he going to do?_

_The world was moving on. People didn’t need the same kind of heroes anymore. He was a demigod, and hard to kill, and driven to help humanity. He just had to find a new way to do it._

_But also, he wondered: What was he going to do to protect Tamatoa?_

_His friend was huge. Truly enormous. One of the last monsters still alive. And his memory was not working the way it used to. That made him dangerous to anyone who stumbled across his sanctuary._

_The two problems ended up working out together. Maui found that in this new world, money was one of the best ways to help people. Either to give them the things they needed, or to give them work to earn for themselves. And in developing this new brand of heroism, he earned quite a bit of money himself._

_So he bought his island. Made it all official and everything. And made sure that everyone knew he meant it when it was listed as “private.”_

_But Tamatoa’s memory became worse, over time. His body began to slow. Maui had to seek out help from the humans to keep Tamatoa safe and fed. And when they grew old and retired, he hired new ones._

_Maui, meanwhile, remained as he had always been. He often heard the phrase “You haven’t aged a day!” while among the mortals, meant to be a compliment, but it had always been a hurtful reminder. Though he kept up as the world moved forward, he was an island standing still amidst a wild current of time rushing past._

_He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that eventually his friend would be gone, just as generations of humans had already left. He knew that although age crept slowly upon Tamatoa, it approached nonetheless._

_But age never approached Maui. It denied him the comfort of growing old alongside those whom he loved._

_Someday, he would be alone._

~~~

Maui didn’t notice that Tamatoa had awoken until he heard his friend speak. “Let’s go to the north beach today.”

He looked up at his friend from where he leaned against a pincer. “Sure. You hungry?”

“Not now.”

His own stomach sank at those words, but Maui said nothing in response - just stood ahead of Tamatoa and watched as the crab slowly, painfully pulled himself up to stand. His eyes were unusually clear as he turned and lumbered off. Maui kept pace beside him.

It was late in the afternoon. Tamatoa found his preferred spot in the warm sand, settled down with a weary sigh. Maui wasn’t sure what to expect when Tamatoa began talking again.

“Maui. Do you remember when we slowed down the sun?”

Maui smiled. “I do. It was a beautiful morning when we got started.”

They talked, then. Remembered past adventures, told old jokes while the stars glimmered into view, and they watched the night sky wheel gracefully overhead, peppered by streaks of fire as a few stars fell. They sang, and teased each other about their singing voices, and greeted the sun as it arose again.

Tamatoa still wasn’t hungry, but he didn’t complain of any aches or pain, either.

When his friend dozed most of the day away, Maui stayed right there. He counted every single breath, deeply afraid there wouldn’t be another. Wanted to be there in case there wasn’t.

Maui was watching when Tamatoa opened his eyes again. His friend looked out at the sea for a long time. Then he looked to Maui, and watched him for a long time too. Maui met his eyes, held his gaze, but couldn’t think of a single thing to say. What could he say? What could ever be the right words, that would be the last Tamatoa would ever hear?

When the sun touched the water, Tamatoa sighed. “Maui. I’m just so tired.” He closed his eyes.

Maui nodded, his face becoming damp with tears. He had been resting against a pincer again, but leaned forward to place his forehead against Tamatoa’s cheek.

“I know,” he whispered. “You rest, my friend. I’ll be here.”


End file.
